When Jessica Ji marched into her local supermarket during her first week in the U.S, she expected to experience no major difficulties. After all, Ji had earned a degree in nursing science, had been a faculty member in a university in Shanghai, and had studied English extensively in school.

So how hard could it possibly be to apply for a customer card?

However, when the store employee asked Ji for her address, the question flummoxed her. Ji had learned British English in China and only knew the word pronounced as (A-dress) with the first syllable stressed—not (uh-DRESS) as the employee pronounced it. When next asked for her ZIP code, Ji had no clue what that was either.

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“I had a faculty job in China, but the little things here were so frustrating,” Ji said. “Everything was totally new to me.”

Ji sacrificed her promising career in China to follow her husband, Roger, to the U.S. in 2011 because of a wonderful career opportunity for him. Whereas her husband came to the U.S. with a job and a social network that offered excellent opportunities for him to practice and refine his English, Ji herself had nothing until she heard of Volunteer English Program (VEP) and its services in Chester County.

According to its website, VEP “enhances the economic and social quality of life for immigrant families, community members, consumers, employers and employees in Chester County by providing tutoring for adults to improve their English language skills, their American cultural understanding, and their participation in the communities we share.”

VEP accomplishes these goals by training its tutors to use a specific one-on-one tutoring model that includes English language literacy for the adult learner, effective language tutoring skills and developing goal-centered instruction and lesson plans for each learner’s individual needs.

“Our goal is to help people not be isolated because of a language barrier,” said Terri Potrako, VEP’s executive director. “We want to support the whole person. English is so essential to immersion and survival. It’s frightening for anyone to not understand and not be able to communicate.”

Last year, 170 volunteers tutored 180 immigrants from more than 47 different countries. In order to qualify as a tutor, one must attend a three-day, nine-hour-long training workshop. A tutor must also commit to meet with their student twice a week for three hours in total for one year, be 18 or older and speak English fluently. No proficiency in a secondary language is required because the tutor will teach on an English-only model.

Immigrants who benefit from VEP’s services come from a myriad of backgrounds; some were college faculty in their native countries, whereas others have never exceeded an 8th grade education.

“There is no typical student,” Potrako said. This is why the one-on-one teaching model works so well for VEP. “It enables tutors to learn what the goals, objectives and needs are of each student,” she said.

“It takes tremendous courage for a student to ask for help,” Potrako said. “Students are committed to being fully successful members in their community, and that is very rewarding for us.”

There are usually 40-50 students on the waiting list for tutoring services at any given time, although most are matched with a tutor within a few months.

“I really appreciate VEP,” Ji said. “It’s nonprofit, and it’s working very hard to get more volunteers to help us.”

All Ji knew about the U.S. had come from movies and TV shows like “Friends.” When Americans told jokes and laughed, Ji did not understand why. Because of her sense of alienation and discomfort, she initially secluded herself almost exclusively with Chinese-speaking friends.

After Ji took her placement test with VEP, she was given the “purple label” textbook to work through with her tutor, Kate Varley. Varley quickly discovered that while Ji’s English vocabulary and reading comprehension skills were impressive, her pronunciation, comprehension of common slang, and familiarity with figurative idiomatic expressions, such as “That was a piece of cake,” and “I’m feeling blue today,” required the most improvement.

Varley then helped Ji to study for her GRE examination, prepare for interviews and practice her essay writing skills. After much hard work, time and effort, Ji was admitted into a graduate program this fall at the University of Pennsylvania to continue her nursing studies.

“Without her help, I couldn’t be who I am now,” Ji said.

Varley used to proofread every one of Ji’s emails. “Now she emails without me knowing,” Varley said, laughing.

Varley also aided Ji in her acclimation to the U.S. culture and her local community. Ji experienced her first 4th of July fireworks and visited Varley’s mother-in-law in her retirement community in Honeybrook. Varley invited Ji and her husband for dinner many times, even during Thanksgiving and Christmas, teaching Ji how to cook American classics, navigate the numerous seasonings for particular dishes, and bake Christmas cookies.

“I got my first Christmas gift in my whole life from Kate,” Ji said.

“Before VEP, I had two kids,” Varley said. “Jessica is like another daughter to me.”

Kate laughs when she remembers the first time she told Ji this. Ji turned to her husband, remarked that this made him Varley’s son-in-law, and then promptly ordered, “Go carry her packages!”

“You become not just a tutor, but friends, as well, and I’ve learned so much about a different way of thinking from Jessica,” Varley said. “Personally, it’s been a really great experience. VEP is a tremendous organization. Take Jessica’s experience and multiply it many times.”

According to Potrako, VEP began when the residents of Chester County saw a need and met that need humbly. “Chester County is very good at reaching out,” Potrako said. “That is the spirit of Pennsylvania, and it is true of Chester County.”